Article — Susan Fotovich McCabe | Photography — Courtesy of Leawood Stage Company
This month, families throughout Leawood and surrounding communities will gather up their coolers, picnic baskets, blankets and lawn chairs, and settle in for the Leawood Stage Company’s newest season. This year’s production, Guys and Dolls, runs July 15-18 and July 22-24 at the Ironwoods Amphitheater in Ironwoods Park. Those who attend will likely see friends and neighbors in the audience. They may also be surprised to see friends or neighbors on stage as well. Leawood Stage Company Chairman Paul Anderson says an evening of community theater is a summer tradition.
“Our intent is to provide quality family entertainment, and this year’s selection is considered one of the best musicals ever made,” says Anderson.
This is Leawood Stage Company’s 12th season, which began with a concert review and later grew to full-stage musical productions by 2005. The productions continue to grow in popularity each year, bringing 2009 attendance to 11,000 people over the run of the show. Anderson says the organization is now trying to keep pace with the crowds, and is diligently fundraising to replace the temporary structure with a full-service facility that could also be used for corporate meetings, weddings, etc.
In the meantime, it doesn’t seem to dissuade area residents from attending and even performing in the annual production. Even Anderson, who hasn’t acted since high school, has appeared in such Leawood Stage Company productions as Oklahoma and Brigadoon. In Guys and Dolls, Anderson plays Lieutenant Brannigan. By the way, acting runs in the family. Anderson’s daughter, Erin Anderson, a 2003 Blue Valley North graduate, is in the production High School Musical at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando.
Speaking of families, one Leawood family has embraced the thespian life. Leawood residents Nick and Tracie Davis and their daughters Tori, 14 and Emma, 8, have made acting a family affair. According to Tracie, Nick and Tori first auditioned for Music Man in 2007. Tori wanted to give it a try, and Nick had done musicals in high school. Tracie helped with hair and make-up, while Emma tagged along. The entire family was part of the cast of Annie Get Your Gun and Brigadoon. Guys and Dolls will be the family’s fourth production.
“We were hooked and have been involved ever since. We feel so lucky to do so,” says Tracie. “These have been the best memory building summers we could ask for. We rehearse together all summer long, but all get to be with friends our own ages, so it isn’t a ‘family smothering’ atmosphere. Tori hangs with the teens and Emma hangs with the tweens.”
For Tracie and Nick, acting is a diversion from their “day jobs” – although not too different for Tracie, who is a modern dancer for the City in Motion Dance Theater and a local choreographer. She’s a freelance graphic designer as well. Nick is Director of Software Development at Boulevard Brewing Company and operates his own web development company, iNDi Business Solutions. It brings satisfaction, too, says Tracie, in terms of being involved in the community and “being a part of something artistic.”
“Doing a musical is very different from most jobs out there. We spend long rehearsals doing a lot of singing, a lot of dancing, but mostly having a good time. We bond as a cast as we experience something that is really quite special- and we veterans know this,” she says.
The same is true for 59-year-old Overland Park resident Michael Nemeth, who is in finance for a Stilwell landscape firm. Nemeth earned his degree in speech and drama education, actually met his wife, Shelly, in the theater, but got sidetracked by life for nearly 30 years before returning to acting at Leawood Stage Company. Nemeth admits he enjoys the applause, but enjoys the friendship even more.
“After all, you are with these people three to four hours every night for about six weeks. It is great fun,” relates Nemeth, who also likes the look of surprise he gets from friends and neighbors who say, “Wow! I didn’t know you could act!”
According to Anderson, Johnson County has a wonderful pool of local talent. And sometimes the Leawood Stage Company can even lure a local VIP to perform in a cameo appearance. Such was the case with Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn in the production, Annie Get Your Gun.
“A lot of people don’t have the fortitude to perform,” says Anderson. “It’s a scary process. But we’re so happy to have the support of the City, the Mayor, the residents of Leawood and nearby communities.”
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